Sold
by Whurmy
Summary: "And as for picking your bride... Think of it as just another present." That's paraphrased. :P Alex/Rosie Demena Demi/Selena


**Author's note:** Ahhaaaa... Sup? :P Since Arrangements was taken down, I'm done posting RPFs on . I didn't think it was that serious of a rule. |D

This fic kind of follows the same lines, but modern day. Which is probably pretty weird, but I've always wanted to write a fic like this. It's not a long fic, it's just long enough to get out what I've wanted to write for over a year now. It can stand alone, but I may make a sequel in the future. We'll see, we'll see. :)

Anyways, I hope you guys like it! **Demena's not dead!** I mean, come on. There's a T-Swizzle album coming out. I won't be able to stop myself from writing song fics from that thing, and I haven't found a new ship yet. :C Ahem. Enjoy!

**I don't own Demi Lovato or Selena Gomez.**

**I don't own Rosalinda or Alex.**

**LOL WHO EVEN SHIPS THEM?**

**And I do not, in any way shape or form, condone human trafficking.**

**-x-**

Rosalinda watched the buildings go by from the tinted windows of the limousine. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her father's movements.

"Daddy." She said warningly, giving him a small, respectful smile. "You promised."

"Oh." His eyes went wide for a moment before he slid his cigar back into it's case. "Sorry, Princess. Old habits." Rosie just shook her head, amused. "We're almost here, sweetheart. You excited?"

"I am." She said, trying to actually sound like it. "It's just a little bit scary, you know? It's a big event, so many people are going to be there. And then there's... You know."

"Rosie." He said softly, using a tone she knew was only for her and her mother. "This is your birthday party. You don't worry about anything, okay? You let me handle the guests and the party and you just enjoy it, alright? And as for picking your bride..." He smiled softly at her, gently setting his hand on her knee. "It's more of a treat from Daddy than a job for you, okay? If you don't like them, that's fine."

Rosie smiled a little bigger and nodded. Only, it wouldn't be okay. The girls being offered at her twenty-first birthday party were being sold, either by their husbands or families. They were raised as property and being sold as nothing more than property. The girl she picked would be welcomed into her family as Rosie's equal in a life of luxury, practically considered royalty. The ones that Rosie didn't pick would be going back to their homes, returning to their lives as nothing more than house wives, maybe even less. That was what made her want to throw up.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Princess?"

"I want to pay the girls I don't pick." She said, looking her father in the eye. He shifted uncomfortably in his spot, thumbs smoothing out over his cigar case.

"Okay." He said slowly, carefully, thinking it over. "And, uh, how much were you thinking?"

"Is ten thousand too much?"

"No, not at all, Princess." She could feel the relief coming off of her father in waves. Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was the owner of tens of multi-million dollar businesses. The power the man had often escaped Rosie's mind. Owning nearly half of LA, he held thousands of people's lives in the palm of his hand. Tonight, though, Rosie wasn't worried about those thousands. Just the girls praying to be chosen as Rosie's wife, even if it was against their religion. Her breaths came easier knowing that the girls still had a fighting chance at life after leaving the hotel.

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Anything you want, Princess."

**-x-**

According to MTV, her twenty-first birthday was supposed to be about alcohol, deafening party music and degrading dance moves. This party could not be any more different.

The main ballroom was being used as just that, a ballroom. The room was filled with women in beautiful dresses, men in fancy suits and elegant, classical music coming from a live band. Rosie held her first, no, her first _legal_ drink in her left hand as she greeted the guests that insisted on shaking the birthday girl's hand, along with the many Cousin Anthonys and Aunt Marias. With half of her family of Mexican heritage and the other half Italian, it was sure to get a little wild later in the night.

Probably around the time Rosie chose her bride and took her up to the honeymoon suite. Daddy didn't like to have drunks around his little girl, after all, and that included himself. He declined all offers of champagne and whiskey, sticking to sparkling water and watching Rosie's alcohol consumption carefully.

"Don't want you tipsy when you choose your bride, darling." Rosie only smiled and took another sip of champagne.

"Attention, everyone, attention!" Her father's deep voice boomed throughout the ballroom, silencing the guests as they all turned their eyes to him. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to my Rosalinda's birthday ball, and for the wonderful gifts you've all brought." Rosie's eyes flickered to the long table at the end of the room, opposite the buffet. The stack of gifts stood higher than she did, everything from TVs to antique, probably stolen, goods that she couldn't really care less about. Her mother favorited antiques while her father loved more modern things. Rosie was stuck somewhere in the middle, filling her room with elegant, simple décor.

The continuation of her father's speech made her stop wondering where to put the HD TV that she knew was in the box to the far right.

"It truly means a lot to me that you've all come to celebrate my little girl becoming a woman." Rosie blushed and took her father's hand, standing up. He held her hand up to eye level and his glass up above his head, a proud grin taking over his face. "To Rosalinda!" He said, thrusting his glass a little higher in the air.

"To Rosalinda." The crowd echoed, holding their glasses up high and downing the liquids. "I hope you all enjoy your gift bags, and have a wonderful night! Thank you!"

As the murmuring around the room continued, Mister Montoya led his eldest daughter away. Rosie swallowed, handing her half empty glass to a server and taking a deep breath as they walked into a private dining area off to the east of the ballroom.

"Don't be nervous, Princess." He soothed, patting the back of her hand. "You have nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm about to pick my wife, Daddy." She reminded, smoothing her dress down. "I have everything to be worried about." He chuckled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Just go with your heart, honey... Or, if you have to, other parts of your body."

Rosie's jaw dropped as she stared, wide eyed, at her father.

"I think this is the first time in my life I've been able to say that I'm flabbergasted."

A deep belly laugh came from the man as they walked closer to the heavy doors. Rosie's sweaty hand smoothed over her dress again and she forced herself to smile over the nausea.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?"

She nodded and took one more deep breath. "Almost..."

**-x-**

"Do not mess this up." A deep voice growled. "Or there will be hell to pay."

Alex shivered, her stomach rolling with nausea as the door opened.

"Good evening, everyone." A large Italian man greeted, a small brunette on his arm. He wore a deep black suit, his only jewelry a large gold ban on his ring and a golden cross around his neck. The girl wore a lightly shimmering gold dress that ended mid thigh, her rich chocolate hair pulled up into a bun with some stray pieces around her face.

Alex wanted to vomit. She wasn't allowed to ask questions about who she could be sold to, but a man twice her size and his barely legal wife wasn't what she was expecting. She was hoping, at the very least, for a man raised in a decent family than didn't treat women like dirt on the bottom of her shoe.

Her fiancee squeezed her shoulder until she was fighting a small scream and she forced a smile at the man and woman, the grip easing a little. The man opened his mouth to speak, but the girl cut him off.

"I'd like all the men to leave the room, please." None of them men moved and the silence grew awkward. The girl rose her eyebrows, a sudden wave of authority suddenly coming off her. The men finally started to move and the girl spoke again. "Daddy, can you leave us, please?"

Oh God, she was definitely going to throw up. A father-daughter thing? She was going to throw up.

"Come with me, gentlemen." The man said, releasing his daughter and holding his arms out in a welcoming manner. "We have a special lounge for you down the hall, men. You'll love it." Conversations were struck up as the men left the room and Alex took a deep breath once the door shut.

The girl cleared her throat and slid her hands down her stomach as she spoke. "I know this is going to feel like grade school, but- bear with me, okay? I need you to raise your hand if you are under eighteen." Three of the eight girls in the line raised their hand. Alex could have sworn she heard the woman say something under her breath, but couldn't make it out.

"Well... I don't know how much your families have told you guys and a few things have changed, so I'm going to go over everything." She spoke with a gentleness that unnerved Alex and she bit the inside of her lip, her palms sweating inside the powder blue, elbow length gloves. She sounded just as nervous as Alex felt, unsure and totally out of her element. "My name is Rosie. Tonight is my twenty-first birthday party, and I'm going to be picking one of you as my bride."

Alex wondered how anyone could ever find themselves in the situation she was in now. Being sold by her fiancee to the lesbian daughter of an Italian businessman. It could be worse, though. At least it sounded like her dad wouldn't be in on any of it.

"I know it probably isn't what any of you ever wanted to do with your life, and I'm sorry for that. None of you are going home with the men that brought you here, unless you want to."

"W-we aren't?" One of the girls who raised her hand sputtered out.

"No, not unless you want to. Each of you are getting ten thousand before you leave here, to do whatever you want with. You can get your own apartment, run off to New York, whatever you want to do. Well, except for one of you. That'll be the one who... Well. You know."

All of them just stared at her. Alex thought about how angry Ricardo would be when he was told that his fiancee was being given ten thousand dollars to run away from him. She tensed up as she realized that was probably what was going on right now. She'd have to get out of town as soon as she got the chance, or her whole face would be swollen by morning.

Rosie walked closer to all of them and Alex swallowed hard, straightening her back and releasing her lip. The girl took a good look at each of them as she walked past, looking each of them in the eye, asking their names and smiling at them. Alex was the fifth girl in her path.

"Lea."

This was insane.

"Charlotte."

God, she didn't stand a chance. The other girls spoke with confidence, like they'd done this hundreds of times before.

"Jenny. Er, Jennifer."

The first girl in the line who sounded nervous, and one of the girls who was under eighteen. Alex didn't think she looked older than sixteen.

"Annamaria."

She hoped one of the younger girls got picked. Her and the older girls, they could find a place, try to fix up their lives. Jennifer, Annamaria, they hardly stood a chance once they left this place.

Holy shit, it was her turn.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" That was such a good question.

"Um, Alex." She choked out. What the hell was that? "Alexandra, ma'am." She said again, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Her gloves had to be soaked by now.

"Alexandra..." Rosie echoed, smiling at her and nodding slowly. "I like that." Alex fought against a shiver. She was gorgeous. Whoever Rosie picked was a lucky girl and for the first time since hearing about the ten thousand, for a split second, Alex hoped it would be her.

She relaxed as Rosie moved down to Jessica and Lilly, taking the moment to steady her breathing and stop herself from having a heart attack. She'd made it through the worst part, now she just had to wait.

They all jumped as Rosie's dad walked back into the room, putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Good evening girls." He said, smiling warmly at them. "The boys have been taking care of." Maybe it was because he was a large, rich, Italian man, but Alex wondered what, _exactly_, that meant. "Have you decided yet, Princess?"

For the umpteenth time that night, Alex nearly lost her stomach contents. Rosie nodded and a smile slowly formed on her face. She really was gorgeous. Alex wondered why she had to pick out a bride, when she had to have hoards of both men and women chasing after her.

"Alex, sweetie, can you come here?"

Alex's heart skipped and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out but a dry cough. Rosie chuckled and she tried again.

"What?"

Rosie rose one eyebrow at her with a sweet smile and held out her hand. Alex's legs felt like jelly as she walked forward and took it, shaking.

"Are- are you serious?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. If she spoke any louder, she was afraid she'd barf all over Rosie and her million dollar dress. That would definitely change her mind. The woman just smiled at her.

"Thank you, girls. My Daddy'll show you all to your rooms for the night, and someone will be by in the morning to help you get a cab or book a flight, whatever you want." Alex was falling apart in the best way possible as Rosie offered her an elbow. She took it, feeling lost and dizzy as she watched her gloved fingers wrap around the other girl's skin.

"Come on, hon. It's getting late."

"Huh?" She reminded herself what could happen if she didn't keep it together and kept going. "Where are we going?" Rosie glanced at her and took a deep breath, giving her a small smile before replying.

"Our room."

Oh God.

**-x-**

Alex's mind was racing, jumping from _I can't believe this just happened!_ to _Oh, Dear God, thank you._ To _Am I about to have sex?_

The latter being the one that had her trembling as she stepped out of the shower. She felt exposed, even in the shut and locked bathroom with a towel tightly wrapped around her. Ricardo had made sure she was ready for tonight. She had a manicure, a pedicure, her entire body had been waxed and her hair cut and styled.

"Gotta get you ready for your honeymoon tomorrow night."

Alex shuddered at the memory and took a deep breath, fingering the silk pajamas Rosie had picked out for her. Thankfully, the short, low cut dress wasn't see through. Really, Alex was just glad she was allowed to wear anything to bed at all. She hadn't worn pajamas to bed in years.

Nights with Ricardo kept coming back to mind as she towel dried her hair. Handsome as he was, he was a disgusting pig. His hairy legs and strong arms pinning her down always made her want to vomit. While they were set to be married, she was treated like trash. He had other girls around him constantly. Alex was just his property, a nice piece of arm candy for dinner parties and nights out. That was the worst of it, being publicly humiliated in front of all of Ricardo's friends, laughing as she did whatever he told her to.

When Ricardo said he was selling her, Alex cried. Not because she wanted to stay with Ricardo, but because it was just another reminder that he _owned_ her. Alex wasn't her own person, she was just a piece of property. And in the same breath, she was hopeful. Maybe she'd go to a man who would treat her better. Maybe, just maybe, she'd go to a place where she wasn't just property.

Then she remembered that she was being bought, not courted, and all her hopes came crashing down. She could be being sold as a sex slave, for all she knew. And there wasn't a god damned thing she could do about.

"Alex?" A quiet, worried voice came through the door. "You okay in there?"

"Yes. Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. I'm almost done."

"Alright. Tell me if you need anything, sweetheart." Alex nodded and listened to her new fiancee walk away from the door.

Alex licked her lips as she let her towel drop to get dressed. She knew she was lucky, very lucky. She wasn't sold as a sex slave, she didn't think. She wasn't being yelled at, cursed at, and the worst thing Rosie had called her was 'sweetheart', which was a breath of fresh air after Ricardo.

Alex's stomach swam as she came to her conclusion. If she was to consummate her relationship with Rosie, then so be it. She felt like she owed the girl her life, and maybe she did. She'd do whatever Rosie wanted tonight. It was the least she could do for being treated like a human being. So far, anyways.

The need to vomit didn't diminish as she slipped into her light blue gown, nearly the color of the dress she wore earlier that evening. The lacy hem tickled at her thighs and the silk felt oddly soothing against her stomach. She tried taming her hair, but with no hairbrush to be found, she quickly gave up.

Nausea and insecurities piled high, Alex opened to the door and stepped into the bedroom.

"Hey there." Rosie greeted, wrapping up whatever she was doing on her fancy phone and setting it on the night stand. Alex just stood there, wrapping her arms around herself and stepping closer to the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?" Alex nodded, trying to force a smile, but moving her facial muscles too much made the bile in her stomach rise and she gave up.

"I couldn't find a brush." She said lamely.

"Oh, sorry." Rosie leaned over to her nightstand and picked up a purple bristle brush. "I forgot that you'd need one. Sit down, honey, I'll brush it out." Alex bit her lip hard as she followed Rosie's orders, awkwardly sitting on the edge of the bed. Rosie shifted behind her, finally settling behind her with her feet under her and a knee on either side of Alex. She started at the bottom, gently going through the knots caused by the shower. The feeling of Rosie's fingers in her hair and the ball point bristles against her back calmed her enough to remember how to breathe like a normal person.

Rosie started at the bottom, gently working the rats out of her hair in a way that reminded Alex of the her mother used to do it when she was little, back before the woman remarried. She stopped her mind from wandering before memories made her nausea worse and focused on the gentle fingers combing through her hair after each brush stroke.

"You have really beautiful hair." Her new fiancee said quietly as she worked her way up.

"Thank you, ma'am." Alex replied so softly, Rosie barely heard her.

"You don't have to call me "ma'am", you know. "Rosie" will work just fine." Alex ducked her head and nodded slightly. She really had to be careful. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she messed this up.

All too soon her hair was brushed out and Rosie's fingers gently started parting it. Her perfectly manicured nails lightly scratched at Alex's scalp and she shuddered, goosebumps erupting all over. When she finished, Rosie's hands dropped to her shoulders, slid down her back and rested on either side of her waist. Alex's breath hitched in her throat and she closed her eyes, trying to focus on not messing up.

Rosie shifted behind her and soon Alex's back was pressed against Rosie's front as the girl wrapped her arms around her waist, holding her gently against her. Instinctively, Alex's hands flew to rest on top of Rosie's to stop her from moving any more.

"You don't have to be scared of me. Please, don't be scared of me." Alex swallowed the lump in her as Rosie moved her thumbs in small circles on her stomach. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Her lips brushed against the shell of Alex's ear and she gripped Rosie's hands a little tighter. God, she wasn't ready for this. She trembled in her arms, eyes squeezed shut and fingers locked around the other girl's. "What are you scared of, honey?"

Frankly, Alex wasn't used to being asked how she felt about anything and she took a few moments to reply.

"I... I've never..." She had no idea how to word it. She'd never had sex before? She'd never been wanted before? She didn't even know if that was what the other girl had in mind. She just didn't know _anything_ and tears stung at her eyes.

"Hey." Rosie moved the girl's hair to fall around her left shoulder and she gently rested her chin on the skin on Alex's right shoulder. "It's okay. We're not doing anything tonight, okay?" The soft tone in her voice made her eyes well up more and a single tear slipped out. Rosie squeezed her a little tighter and reached up with one hand to wipe it away, pressing her lips against the skin in front of Alex's ear for a few seconds. "I will not ever make you do anything you don't want to do. I promise." Alex shivered in her arms, her body catching fire as Rosie's lips brushed across her skin.

All she could do was give a tiny nod and give a choked, "Okay."

Rosie's lips smiled against her skin and she gave Alex another quick peck, and moved away. Cool air met her warm skin and she took a deep breath, feeling alone without Rosie behind her. She didn't know which feeling she hated more, the on-edge feeling that Rosie gave her or the way she felt lost unless Rosie was _right there._ The warmth she provided confused Alex almost as much as it comforted her.

Her fiancee pulled down the comforter behind her and Alex turned around, more than happy to end this long night. She crawled under the covers, reveling in the feeling of the luxurious sheets against her skin, covering her up and wrapping her in a warm cocoon. Rosie shimmied in behind her, making the temperature in the sheets skyrocket. Every time that Ricardo's body slid into bed, Alex felt disgusted, but as Rosie slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close, all she felt was safety.

The feeling totally overwhelmed her. She was in the honeymoon suite of a top notch hotel, laying in the softest bed she'd ever been in with a girl who seemed to want nothing more than her company. The arm around her waist wasn't holding her down, the legs brushing against hers weren't keeping her locked in place. The body against her back was seeking nothing more than her warmth, the soft limbs only securing her, reassuring her.

Alex was awake long after Rosie's breaths evened against the back of her neck, trying to keep her body from shaking too much as she sobbed. This was her life now, spending her days and nights with a girl she'd never met before, who wanted nothing more than her companionship, and she couldn't remember the last time she felt so safe.


End file.
